And if you’re wanting some holiday vibes, we just had December 5th-8th open up too! That’s our only available weekend left for 2025.
If you’re anything like me, this is your time of year.
Fall is just really getting into the swing of things, the leaves are changing, the holidays are right around the corner.. and then it’s cozy season!
I actually love winter and I love spending winter days at the cabin. It is so relaxing to sink into the hot tub on the back deck and enjoy a nice little beverage while looking up at a big sky full of stars or feeling surrounded by our seasonal mountain view.
Snow is famously difficult to predict in North Carolina but we did get a nice dusting of it last year and our friend Amy (@ridge.and.reverie) happened to be there to capture it!
I’m crossing all my fingers and toes it happens again for us this year.
One of the more unique things about winter stays is that you get to really take in our mountain views - they are so beautiful. We have views that fully surround the cabin and wrap from the back all the way out to the front! During the spring and summer they’re hidden behind leaves but this winter we’re hoping to work with a local friend who can mindfully trim a few limbs to give us more of a year round view.
If you’re wondering about what kind of winter plans you can make, let’s break down some of the fun options near the cabin:
Hatley Pointe Ski Resort: At a little over an hour away, Hatley Pointe makes an amazing day trip from the cabin. They recently completely renovated their entire property to include ski slopes, trails, and a great restaurant. They also have snow tubing!
Catawba Falls: Only fifteen minutes from the cabin, this is still a great trail to do during the winter. Especially on a very cold day - the falls are even more beautiful when they’re frozen.
Sauna House: We are big sauna fans over here (in fact, we are planning to put one out at the a-frame soon, hopefully before winter 2027!). Sauna House in Asheville is a wonderful way to escape the cold.
Luminere at Biltmore: This one is more of a spring activity as it opens towards the end of our March availability but worth mentioning! Enjoy sunset and a dazzling light show at the famous Biltmore Estate.
Snow Tubing: This article from our friends at NCTripping breaks down all the best snow tubing. The closest to the cabin will be Black Bear or Moonshine Mountain in Hendersonville.
And don’t forget, we’ve got some holiday weekends for this block too!
January 16th-19th: Martin Luther King Jr Weekend
February 13th-16th: Presidents Day Weekend (And Valentine’s!)
Pulled straight from the library at the cabin, here are two books we’d recommend tucking into while staying there (or anywhere!)
Shealy’s Pick: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
Emery Blackwood's life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family's business, Blackwood's Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.
August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother's ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed--Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily's mysterious death once and for all.
Eddie’s Pick: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Sorely wounded and fatally disillusioned in the fighting at Petersburg, a Confederate soldier named Inman decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge mountains to Ada, the woman he loves. His trek across the disintegrating South brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign. At the same time, the intrepid Ada is trying to revive her father's derelict farm and learning to survive in a world where the old certainties have been swept away. As it interweaves their stories, Cold Mountain asserts itself as an authentic odyssey, hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.
This is the type of meal you want to get snowed in with. It’s so, so, so creamy and hearty - perfect to warm you back up after hiking in the snow!
Cream of Mushroom Soup w/ Mushroom Hand Pies
One pound cremini mushrooms
8oz dried morel mushrooms
One pound beech mushrooms
One half pound oyster mushrooms
4 cups chicken broth
One shallot
2 cups half/half
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary
Half cup of sherry
Duck fat
In food processor, add cremini mushrooms and shallot and finely dice
On a sheet pan, break beech mushrooms apart and spray with duck fat, season with salt/pepper and bake at 425 until crispy (30 mins or so)
Slice oyster mushrooms into 1/4 inch disks, sauté in a pan with butter and salt (the oyster and beech mushrooms are toppings)
Melt butter in a stock pot and add cremini and shallot mix, sauté until mushrooms are soft
deglaze pot with sherry, cook for an additional minute
add chicken stock, bring to a simmer, cook for 20 minutes
add half and half and cook for another 20 minutes
add fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste, cook for another 5 minutes
after ladling soup in a bowl, add beech and oyster mushrooms to the top. Put a dollop of crème fraische in the middle. Optional: little dashes of chili crunch for a hint of spice.
One sheet of puff pastry
Half pound cremini mushrooms (finely chopped)
One shallot (finely chopped)
Two cloves of garlic
Fresh thyme, rosemary, and tarragon (finely chopped)
Sherry
Two tablespoons of Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
One egg
let puff pastry thaw at least 30 minutes prior to baking
Preheat oven to 425
in a sauce pan heat butter then add shallots, cremini mushrooms, sauté for 5 minutes and then add garlic over medium heat
once mushrooms are soft, deglaze the pan with half cup of sherry and add fresh herbs
salt and pepper to taste
once sherry has completely cooked off, remove from heat, add Dijon mustard and stir. Allow mixture to completely cool.
using a large mushroom shaped cookie cutter, cut out 4 mushroom puff pastries.
whisk an egg in a bowl to create an egg wash
brush edges of two puff pastry cut outs with egg wash to serve as a glue for the top pieces
add mushroom filling to center of puff pastry and add top pieces
press edges with fork to seal
place hand pies on parchment lined cookie sheet, brush top with egg wash, place in oven
bake for 25 minutes or until it’s golden brown
If you’re new here, you may not have seen that we recently knocked a big thing off our wish list.. our fireplace!
This was something we always wanted to have when we were building, but unfortunately it wasn’t in the budget at the time. I am so glad we went back and added one, especially for this time of year. Curling up beside it and watching the snow fall.. that’s like a dream to me. It’s made the cabin feel extra cozy but it’ll be even cozier during these chilly months.
A little about our cute new addition: it’s a gas fireplace made by Jøtul and it is so easy to use - just press the power button on the remote and it’s toasty in no time. The really nice thing about it is that you can also operate it if the power is out. It’s not incredibly common for us to lose power but in the off chance of an ice/snow storm, knowing that guests will be able to stay warm is such a relief.
We also have heaters available outdoors too! We have a wood burning fire pit out front and a propane powered standing heater on the back deck.
That’s all for Field Notes this time! I hope you’re all excited about going into the cozy ‘Ber months and beyond.. I just love fall and the holidays at the cabin, but winter is my second favorite without a doubt.
Thank you so much for joining us here in our little corner of the woods - whether that’s digitally or because you’re going to be staying at our a-frame cabin sometime soon. We are always so very grateful for the guests who come from all over to enjoy our space!
We’ve been lucky to get over 135 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews, be in the top 1% of homes on Airbnb, receive Super Host status and Guest Favorite in the two years we’ve been on Airbnb. It is so much more than I ever could have expected and by being here, you’re part of that!
🤎🤎🤎🤎
Shealy & Eddie
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